As recently as three years ago, the Mountain West Conference had marquee teams and a state attorney general threatening to take the whole BCS to court.

Now there's Boise State, which this offseason lost one of the best coaches in the game when Chris Petersen left for Washington. Now there's Fresno State, the current champion of the MWC, losing by 25 to a fractured Southern Cal team in a bowl game. Now there's two divisions with two funky names (Mountain and West), and a whole lot of questions.

And no more attorney general threatening the BCS (read: Utah moves to Pac-12, Utah attorney general no longer interested in BCS).

We continue our ranking of the coaches in college football with our first look at a Group of 5 conference (the old non-BCS leagues).

What's not to like about DeRuyter, a tough-guy, no-frills coach who has won 20 games in two seasons in the Valley. The only question: How much longer can Fresno hold onto him? He'll work his first season without the best quarterback in the conference (Derek Carr has graduated), but has a potentially strong defense returning.

2

of 12

Craig Bohl, Wyoming

A first-year coach? At Wyoming? Let's look at the Bohl resume, shall we? If the three consecutive FCS national championships at North Dakota State don't grab you by the boot straps, how about his presence as longtime elite defensive coordinator at Nebraska under Tom Osborne? It has been years since Cowboys faces had reason to get excited about football. Wait and see what happens under Bohl.

3

of 12

Bryan Harsin, Boise State

Harsin has always been a logical choice to coach Boise, all the way back to his early years when Dan Hawkins hired him as a graduate assistant in 2001. He is the Hawkins/Chris Petersen/Dirk Koetter Boise fit, with a similar, unique and calculated offensive mind. Spent one year as coach at Arkansas State before returning to Boise State, where if all goes well, he'll likely stay as long (or longer) than any of the three Broncos coaches before him.

4

of 12

Bobby Hauck, UNLV

Ask any coach; they'll tell you, unquestionably, the UNLV job is the toughest in college football. So Hauck goes from being an elite FCS coach at Montana to finding a way to win a single game. He won six in his first three years at UNLV, then brought the program to its first bowl game in 14 years -- and then had to hear public griping about a contract extension.

5

of 12

Jim McElwain, Colorado State

It took about a year and a half, but McElwain's system finally took hold last year. QB Garrett Grayson finally got comfortable and the Rams won six of their final eight. Watch how well Grayson plays this fall in a very winnable MWC -- and watch how quickly McElwain becomes the target of Power 5 conference schools.

6

of 12

Rocky Long, San Diego State

A career grinder who never got enough credit for the hard work he put into building New Mexico (Have you seen the Lobos program since Long left?). There were more than a few second-guesses when he was given the SDSU job, and he responded with 25 wins in three seasons.

7

of 12

Troy Calhoun, Air Force

Last season was so bizarre, so unlike Calhoun's teams of the past, a winless MWC season (and 10 losses overall) makes absolutely zero sense. Calhoun has been too good too long to not get a mulligan for 2013 -- but there's little doubt a trend is developing. After going 41-24 in his first five seasons at Air Force, Calhoun is 8-17 in his past two.

8

of 12

Matt Wells, Utah State

A former quarterback at Utah State, he was Gary Andersen's offensive coordinator before being elevated to the head-coaching job last season. The Aggies won nine games (despite losing star QB Chuckie Keeton to injury midseason), including a bowl victory over Northern Illinois -- only the third bowl win in school history. Now, Season 2: Utah State has the least returning starters (seven) of any FBS team.

9

of 12

Ron Caragher, San Jose State

He probably underachieved with the Spartans, who returned an elite quarterback and enough skill on both sides of the ball to win more than six games. Caragher had six strong seasons at FCS San Diego, so he has more of a solid track record than just one season in FBS.

10

of 12

Bob Davie, New Mexico

Davie wanted to return to the game so badly, he took on the untenable situation in Albuquerque. The only positive from the experience: His teams haven't lost to New Mexico State, possibly the worst FBS program. There is hope with a more experienced team, but it's an uphill battle.

11

of 12

Brian Polian, Nevada

Another first-year coach who underachieved, but did so against a brutal schedule. Nevada played non-conference games against UCLA, Florida State and BYU, and this season plays Washington State, Arizona and BYU. Polian has 18 starters returning, including dangerous dual-threat QB Cody Fajardo, whose production was limited last season by a knee injury that never truly healed.

12

of 12

Norm Chow, Hawaii

Remember years ago when Colt Brennan complained about a lack of soap in the showers at the Hawaii football facility? Things haven't changed much; they're still dealing with challenging circumstances. That leaves Chow, who has won four games in two seasons, scrambling to make good. Even if Hawaii does get former Southern Cal QB Max Wittek (he's down to Texas and Hawaii), it's still a long road back.